Drum washing apparatus



March 19, 1957 s. s. WALDE DRUM WASHING APPARATUS .7 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Feb. l0, 1954 I/V VENTOR March 19, 1957 s. s. WALDE DRUM WASHINGAPPARATUS Filed Fb. l0, 1954 7 Sheets-'Sheet 2 QN un@ MQ,

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March 19, 1957 s. s. WALDE 2,785,694

DRUM WASHING APPARATUS Filed Feb. lO, 1954' 7 Sheets-'Sheet 3 /7 /56 q/56 F/G. Z l( IN VEA/T0@ March 19, 1957 s. s. WALDE DRUM WASHINGAPPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 10, 1954 www March 19, 1957 s. s.WALDE DRUM WASHING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. l0, 1954 m T NE V N r Mrch I9, 1957 s. s. WALDE DRUM WASHING APPARATUS 7 She'ets-Sheet6 Filed Feb. 10, 1954 March 19, 1957 s. s. WALDE 2,785,694

DRUM WASHING APPARATUS Filed Feb. l0, A1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Unite DRUMwAsHrNo APPARATUS Stephen Stewart Walde, London, England, assignor toVictor Biagden Si Company Limited, London, Eng land, a British companyApplication February lil, 1954, Serial No. 409,430

8 Claims. (Cil 13A-di) This invention comprises improvements in drumwashing apparatus for oil drums and like Vessels in which a jet isentered from belowinto the vessel which is to be cleaned through itsmouth while the vessel is inverted so that detergent is projected intothe vessel through the jet. lt is quite common in bottle-washing andlike apparatus to direct a stream of detergent into an inverted vesselwhich is to be cleaned, but to apply a jet near the bottom of an oildrum, is not adequate, because the size of the drum, the sharp internalcorners or joints which it contains and the ainity of oil and likesubstances for the metal of the drum, necessitate a peculiarly thoroughwashing action which cannot be attained unless a long jet is enteredright inside the drum and unless the interior surface of the drum isclosely sprayed repeatedly with detergent. To get a nozzle right insidethe drum mechanically, it mus-t have a periodic stroke into and out ofthe drum of considerable length. ln order to obtain a thorough washing,especially in the case of oil or chemical: drums, it is desirable toilush the vessel out several times with detergent followed by furtherflushing with wash water. ln producing a machine for the purpose, inwhich vessels on a conveyor pass progressively through the machine, theproblem arises of how best to produce this repeated long-stroke washingaction without undue complication and also of how best to arrange theprogress of the conveyor to tit in with the repeated actions of thedetergent nozzles.

With a View to overcoming these and other problems which arise in suchappartus, the present invention contemplates the employment of aconveyor and a step-bystep mechanism for moving the conveyor inconjunction with a movable frame upon which washing nozzles are mounted,guide-means on the' conveyor to correlate the positions of the drums tobe washed with the nozzles, and operating means for synchronising up anddown movements of the nozzles with translatory movements of the conveyorand for centering the parts relatively to one another.

By moving the jets up and down, they do not remain permanently in thevessels which are to be washed while these are on the conveyor, but arewithdrawn, which facilitates draining. Neither do the jets have to bemounted on the conveyor and the supply' or" liquid to the jets issimpliied.

Furthermore, the jets can be formed to direct the liquid radially on tothe walls or" the vessel to be washed as they rise into the vessel; thusthe streams of liquid then impinge directly on the internal surfaces ofthe Vessels and the impingement occurs progressively over the wholesurface of each vessel as the jet is moved therein, and so increases theeiiiciency of the cleansing operation. This is particularly important inthe case of vessels such as' oil drums, which have a large internal reaand a small oritice.

ln a preferred construction in accordance with the present invention,the jet-carrying structure is mounted 2,785,694 Patented Mar. i9, 1957lCC for up-and-down movement only, and is driven by a continuouslyrotatable member connected to an inter mittent feed device for theconveyor in such manner that the up-and-down movement of thejet-carrying structure alternates with a forward movement of theconveyor which occurs when the jet-carrying structure is substantiallyat rest at the bottom of its stroke. In this Way the jet-carryingstructure has only an up-and-down movement to perform, performing thismovement during the major part of the cycle of operation, and thevessels on the conveyor move horizontally relatively to the jets Whilethe jets are at the lower part of their stroke and during a minorportion only of the cycle.

The invention further relates to the provision of means wherebydetergent and washing water are kept separate from one another, tosafety devices for preventing escape of detergent and of furtherfeatures which are hereinafter more fully described.

The following is a description by Way or" example of two constructionsin accordance with the invention, reference being made to theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of apparatus.

Figure 2 is a plan of the same.

Figure- 3 is a. section upon the line 3 3, of Figure l, looking' in thedirection of the arrows.

Figure 4 isa View similar to Figure l, but of a modified form ofapparatus'.

Figure 5 is a plan of the same.

Figure 6 is a section upon the line ole-6, of Figure 4 looking in thedirection of the arrows, and

1:"1`gure7 is a detail of the driving gear of the construction shown inFigures 4 6.

Figure 8 is a detail o a cradle for oil drums, and is equally applicableto the construction shown in Figures I, 2.y and 3, or to theconstruction shown: in Figures 4 to 7, and

Figure 9 is a further detail showing the entry of a detergent nozzlethrough a bung-guide into an oill drum, and

Figure 10 is a section through the bung holev of a drum.

Referring tirs-t to the construction shown in Figures l to 3, thiscomprises a chain conveyor l1 whichV runs over pulleys l2, 13,14 and l5,so that ithas an upper horizontal Working path 1-6 and a lower returnpath 17. The pulleys are supported in bearings on side frames i3, 19'.

cradle-plate 37 or 38, as the case may be. cradlerEhe side frames aremade by vertical plates which are stifiened` along the top byangle-irons Ztl, 21, and by vertical ribs, 22, 23 at intervals. Thelower ends of the ribs, 22, 23 rest onl flanges 24, 25, andthe flange 24is su ported oua 'concrete base 26, which forms one side of a pit 27. iTheange 25 rests on the top of a detergent reservoir 28,V which islocated in the pit. lt is also supported at ends on the concrete.v

Between the side frames ES, E9 along their top edge there is securedangle-iron guides 29, 3?, which formv ledges along which the two-sidechains il run when` passL ing along their upper horizontal working path.rl`he side chains 11 support, and are kept spaced apart by, cradles 3l,a construction of which appears in` Figures S andv 9'.- Each of thecradles 3l consists of two angleemember's 32,. 33 set parallel to eaclother with one i'lange vertical andthe other flange eXtending from thevtop of the iirst horizontally towards the other of the twoangle-members. The angle-members are united at each end by verticalcross-plates Se, S, and the cross-plates are drilled to receive bolts36, which pass throughY the`V chain il and acti as hinge-pins for someof the links". Welded to the outside of each of the angle-irons 32 33 isan upstanding.

plates serve to support the sides of drums 40, which are laidhorizontally ron the cradle. It is a matter of great importance tolocate each drum acctuately in relation to the cradle so that thebung-hole of the drum comes into an exact position between Itheangle-irons 32, 33 where i-t can be entered in due course by the washingnozzles of the machine.

To this end each cradle carries a bung-locating funnel 41, which islocated mouth downwards and stem lupwards between the angle-irons 32,33. rlfhe funnel 41 has ears 42, on each side, which are bolted tosupporting ears 43, welded to the undersides of the angle-irons 32, 33.The mouth or lower end of the funnel is wide enough to catch and guide anozzle 44 located on an upstanding stem 45, if the nozzle is advancedupwardly into it from below. The neck 46 of the funnel tapers to a sizea little larger than the stem 45, and the diameter of this part of thefunnel is substantially smaller than the opening of any normal bung inan oil drum. The neck of the funnel therefore acts as a locating memberfor the bung of an oil drum which may be rested on the cradle-plates 37,38, with its bung beneath it and surrounding the neck 46. If a drum isso positioned on the cradle, land the nozzle 44 is pushed upwardlythrough the funnel, the funnel will guide it so that the nozzle entersthe drum through the bung-hole. The manner of lifting and lowering thenozzles 44 is hereinafter explained.

Another angle-member 47, welded to end-plates 48, 49 extends across thechain from side to side near to each of the cradles 31 and theend-plates are bolted by bolts 59 to the conveyor chains, as seen mostclearly in Figure 8. The end-plates 48, 49 support the cross-member 47at a level somewhat higher than the cradle 31, and the cross-member 47forms a support which is utilised in conjunction with the cradle whendrums of the type which have bungs in their end are employed. Again thebunghole is located by the neck 46 of the funnel 41, and the drum issupported partly on the angle-iron 32, and partly on the cross-member47, as indicated by the' chain line 51 in Figure 9. This holds the drumon its end in a slightly sloping position with the bung in the lowermostplace so that any oil which the drum may contain will drain out at thebung-hole. Oil is similarly drained out if present, from the drums 40,and it ows over the outside of the funnel 41. One end of the conveyorconstitutes a loading station. Below the loading station an oilcollecting tray 52 extends between the side-plates 18, 19 from side toside. The oil collecting tray has its bottom inclined downwards towardsthe centre, where there is a drain 53 to deliver oil into a sump 54. Thetray 52 is long enough to extend under several oil drums as located onthe conveyor, and therefore, each drum will remain above the tray forseveral steps of the conveyor movement, and this will give anopportunity for excess oil to drain out and be collected for recoveryand re-use or for fuel or otherwise. The driving mechanism of theconveyor is located towards the other end, and comprises a continuouslyrotating drive shaft 60, 'operated at a slow speed by a motor 61,through a reduction gear 62. The shaft 60 carries a locking disc 63 anda Geneva-cross feed mechanism, and secured to each face of the lockingdisc 63 is an arm 64, which projects beyond the edge of the lockingdisc. The arms 64 support between them an operating roller 65. On anadjacent parallel shaft 66 is located a Geneva-cross 67, and the roller65 co-operates with the slots in the cross to move the shaft 66intermittently through one quarter of a revolution at each revolution ofthe shaft 60. The shaft 66 is geared by a chain 68, running oversprockets 69, 70 to the shaft which carries the chain sprockets 14 ofthe conveyor. Thus the conveyor is advanced step by step upon rotationof the shaft 60 and the velocity ratio of the gearing is Ymade such thateach quarter revolution of the shaft 66 will move the conveyor forward astep which is equal to the pitch spac-v ing between the drum locatingfunnel necks 46 on the cradles 31.

The shaft 60 also carries a sprocket 71, which is connected by a chain72 to a sprocket 73 on a nozzle operating shaft 74. 'Ihe nozzleoperating shaft carries a bevel gear 75, which operates a shaft 76extending alongside the frame 18, and this in turn through another bevelgear 77, operates a shaft 78. The shafts 74 and 78 rotate in unison withone another and each of them carries cranks 79, which support acrank-pin 80. The crank-pin 80 Works in a horizontal slot 81, in ajet-carrying frame 82. The jet-carrying frame is best seen in Figure 1of the drawing where it is seen in dotted lines, -although it is shownin full lines in Figures 2 and 3. The jet-carrying frame may be built upof two channel-membersgspaced apart back to back, one above another andprovided with front and back plates 83, 84, between which there issupported a longitudinal pipe 8S. The pipe 85 carries the nozzle stems45 as most easily seen in Figure 3. lt terminates at 86. One end of thepipe is connected by a rubber hose 87 to a xed supply pipe 88. Thesupply pipe 88 receives detergent from a centrifugal pump 89, driven byan electric motor 90,7and the pump drains from the detergent tank 28.

At the other end of the jet-carrying frame 82, there is a water supplypipe and nozzle 128 which is connected by a rubber pipe 96 to a supplypipe 97 supplied with water by a centrifugal pump 98 driven by electricmotor 99.

One end of the detergent reservoir 28, is divided olf by a partition 10)to form a wash Water sump 101, and the centrifugal pump 98 drains fromthe sump 101.

Below the main portion of the conveyor from the end of the tray 52, asfar as the partition 100, there is a detergent'collecting tray 102, withan inclined bottom having a lateral outlet 103 into aspout 104, whichenters the detergent tank 28, so that after use, the detergent isreturned to the tank. Below the last section of the convevor and abovethe wash water sump 101, is a wash water collecting tray 105, whichcollects wash water and delivers it back to the sump 101. Both thedetergent portion of the tank 28, and the wash water sump are heated bysteam coils, 196 in the case of the former, and 167 in the case of thelatter. Below the outlets from the drains 192 and 185, and above theliquid level in the tank 28 and Sump 101, are strainers 168, 189. Thetop of the tank is preferably covered in with chequerplate, not shown inthe drawing.

When drums like the drums 4l) are laid on the cradles 31, the ends ofthe drums project at each side beyond the side frames 18, 19 as shown inFigure 3. It is important that the detergent liquid, which is hot andnormally strongly alkaline, should only enter the drums and should notbe sprayed about freely. lf the operator failed to place any drum inposition, when the empty cradle reached the nozzles 44, there would be astream of detergent sprayed about unhindere'dly. It is important,therefore, to stop the machine before this happens. Tov this end, a rail11@ supported on links 111, 112, is providedon the outside of the frame19, and the link 112 carries a counterbalance weight 113, which tends tomake the rail rise. The link 111, carries a. cam 114 to engage anelectric switch 115. As long as the Yweight ofthe drums keeps the rail11i) depressed, the cam 114 will be out of engagement with the switch115. In this condition, theswitch 115 completes the ycontrol circuit forthe motor 61, and therefore, once the apparatus has been started, `itwill keep running, lf the operator fails to load a drum, there is asuflicient gap between the two cradles von each side of the oneunloaded, to permit the rail 110 to rise as the previously-loaded drumruns off it. The cam 114 will then swing into engagement with theswitch115, and break its circuit, and that of the driving motor 61, until theoperator places a drum on the unloaded position, whereupon the apparatuswillrestart automatically.

Each of the shafts 74, 78 carries a cam 116, '117, respectively. Thecams bear on spring plungers 118, 119,V

and automatic valves 120 121 in the pipe lines 97 and respectively.vThese cams 116 IIT keep the valves 12h, 121 closed when the frame, 32is. lowered, so that the nozzlesV 44 are not inside the drums. Theyallow the valves to open as the nozzles rise and keep them open as longas. they are inside the drums. The pumps 89, 9S, being centrifugalpumps, can. have their delivery cut-off in this way without diihculty.

in the use of this apparatus., the motor 61 being; started and the pumps89 and 98 in operation, with thev tank 28 filled with hot detergent andthe sump. 161 with hot wash water, the machine is started by layingdrums on the cradles of the conveyor as far as the washing position. Theconveyor moves forward step by step, and at each step while the conveyoris at rest, the frame. 82 is raised to bring the nozzles 44, and thewash water nozzle 129 up into the drums. As the nozzles rise into thedrums, they spray the interior of each drum progressively with liquid,as indicated in FigureV 9 at 121. The' spray is arranged to extendradially outward from the nozzle and also upwards, but not downward, sothat when the nozzle is at its uppermost position,y the upper part ofthe drum has detergent liquid inipingi-ng at high speed upon it. Thisproduces a stream of liquid. which runsy down; the interior walls of thedrum and runs out at the bottom around the exterior of the funnel 41,the stem 46. or this funnel being sufficiently smaller than thebung-hole' to permit such out-dow, and sufficiently high to ensure thatthe outlet is kept separate from the entering detergent, even when thenozzle 44 is lowered to the level of the funnel. As the nozzle 44 islowered, the impinging jets 121, and detergent follow the descendingstream of detergent and liquid down the walls of the drums and chase allthe dirt out through the bung-hole. This is of great importance inensuring clean drums, because both the alkaline action of the detergent,and the heat and physical disturbances caused by the impinging jet, arenecessary to ensure complete cleansing- Each drum is entered in theconstruction shown by four nozzles 44 successively. Thereafter, itdrains into the tray 1112 at one of the stations 122 in Figure l.Thereafter, hot wash water is delivered into it by the nozzle 12%, andfinally it drains at the three stations 123, 124 and 125. Being hotfacilitates the draining process.

if it is important to conserve detergent, it is possible to have anadditional hot water nozzle on the frame S2, in advance of the detergentnozzles 44, to help to carry out any easily removed material from thedrum 4Q before it is sprayed with detergent. if it is desirable to drythe drums after washing with water, an additional hot air nozzle may beincorporated and moved up and down with the frame S2 at one or more ofthe stations 123, 124, 125.

While the drum is at the initial station after it has been loaded and isstill above the tray 52, any oil or other liquid which it contains hasan opportunity to drain out into the tray 52 and collect in the tank 54.it is frequently surprising how much oil or other liquid can becollected in a day in this manner, and this economises detergent becausethe detergent does not become emulsied with so much oil or the like.

Referring now to the construction shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6, this isbroadly similar to that shown in Figures l to 3, and similar parts aregiven similar reference numbers. The construction shown in these figureshowever, comprises two conveyors 11, side by side, which are supportedon a frame-work consisting of uprights 139, 131, each of which run forthe greater part of their length through tunnels formed of iron sheeting132, 133, sub-divided by a central partition 134. This obviates any riskof damage in the event of the hereinbefore described safety devicesfailing to operate, and serves also to collect steam from theoperations. The trays 102 are hung from the framework 130, 131, and havelarge lateral delivery extensions 135. These extensions 135 are coupledto the nozzles of the centrifugal pumps 136, which deliver by pipes 137'to a head-tank,v not shown inthe drawing. Similarly the draining trayhas an outlet 138 toV a pump 139, delivering to another headtank, notshown. In the head-tanks. the liquids are allowed to settle or they maybe subjected to a de.- emulsication process, and the clarified liquor isdelivered under pressure through other pumps to the frame 82 and thenozzles thereon.

The driving mechanism for the conveyors is housed in a casing 14d at thedischarge end of the conveyor, and' comprises an electric motoroperating through a reduction gear 141, and a drive including a sprocket142, a chain143 and sprocket 144 to a shaft 145. Thev shaft 145 drives alongitudinal shaft 146, through bevel gears 147, and the. shaft 146 isconnected by further bevel gears 143, 149, with the. crank shafts 74,78, corresponding to thel similarly numbered shafts of Figures 1-3.. Thedrive of the conveyor sprocket 14', is taken through. an interruptedgear to an intermittent shaft 150, and thence by a chain 151, to thesprocket 70.

The interrupted gear is shown iin Figure 7 and comprises a gear 1:52 onthe shaft 145, which has a section of teeth 153 standing out between aplain. portion 154, which is concentric with the shaft 145, and iscoincident With the pitch line of the teeth 153` The. driven. wheel 155has. four sections of teeth 15.6.` adapted to, mesh with the teeth 153'of the gear 152. The. sections of teeth 156 are separated from oneanother by Ilocking sections 157, which are curved so as to lit againstthe plain portion 154 of the gear 152. The gear 152 being driven in adirection indicated by the arrow A, when the teeth 153 come just pastthe position shown in the drawing, so that the rst tooth 158 enters thehollow 159 in front of the teeth 156 and gear 155, the gear 155 willcommence to be driven. The locking section 157 of the gear 155 will notprevent this because the shoulder 160 at the end of the plain portion154 of gear 152, will have moved on towards the centre line between thecentres of shafts 145, 150, and as the wheel 155 continues to turn, theshoulder 160 will reach a position so near to the centre line that theslight working clearance necessary between the two wheels will permitthe movement to continue. The teeth 153, 156, meshing together willdrive gear 155 through one quarter of a revolution, and then the lockingportion 157 will engage the portion 154 of gear 152, and the gear 155will be held from rotation while the shaft 145 makes three-quarters of arevolution. The conveyor is thereby driven intermittently, with periodsof rest corresponding to three-quarters of a revolution of shaft 145,during which periods the frame 82 is raised and lowered. The advance ofthe conveyor takes place during the bottom quarter of the revolution ofthe cranks 80. In order to cushion the start and stop of the conveyor, atiexible coupling may be introduced between the gear 155 and thesprocket which drives the chain 151.

The operation is similar to that hereinbefore described.

I claim:

l. In apparatus for cleansing oil drums, the combination of a chainconveyor, disposed so as to have a substantially horizontal working pathand a return path, a plurality of drum-cradles mounted upon saidconveyor, a hollow bung-guide on each cradle projecting upwardlytherefrom, said bung-guides being of such external diameter as to becapable of entering bung-holes of drums and centering the same on thecradle and being open toward the underside of the working path of theconveyor and spaced from one another at an even pitchdistance, means formoving the conveyor step by step through a distance equal to theaforesaid pitch-distance, a vertically-movable nozzle-frame beneath theconveyor,

a series of nozzles mounted upon long nozzle pipes on Y the frame at apitch-distance equal to the aforesaid pitch-distance so as to be in linewith the bung-guides when the conveyor is at rest, means for raising andlowering the nozzle-frame to pass the nozzles through the bung-guides,means interconnecting the step by step mechanism for advancing theconveyor with the means for raising and lowering the nozzle frame sothat the advance movement of the conveyor takes place when the nozzleframe is lowered, means for supplying detergent liquid to the nozzles inthe nozzle frame, a collecting tray beneath the conveyor and the nozzleframe for liquid, and a reservoir for detergent liquid connected to saidtray to receive liquid therefrom and to deliver such liquid to thesupply means to the nozzle.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the jets are so formed todirect liquid from them radially outwards from the jets on to the wallsof the drums and the nozzle pipes are long enough to rise within thedrums above the halfway line thereof so that the jet liquid impingesupon the walls of the drums at a progressively moving zone which coversby direct impingement the whole drum surface as the jet rises and falls.

3. A drum washer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step by step feedmechanism of the chain is effected by a Geneva-cross mechanism.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for atording stepb'y step movement to the conveyor comprises an interrupted gear. Y

5. Apparatus for cleansing oil drums as claimed in claim 1, whereinvalve means are provided for cutting off the ow of detergent to thenozzles in combination with means forv operating said valve meanscomprising a ramp close to the path of the oil drums, means to urge thesaid ramp towards the oil drums, and connections from the ramp to thesaid valve means, whereby in the event of a break in the continuity ofthe line of oil drums on the conveyor, the detergent is cut oi.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a casing is provided aroundthe conveyor andvoi-l drums over the portion of the travel of theconveyor where thepnozzles enter the drums.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bungguides havefunnel-shaped openings to the underside of the working path of theconveyor.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the jets deliver liquidthroughout their entire up-and-down movement within the drums.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS .sans

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